MENIFEE: Menifee council eyes septic problems

Quail Valley septic tank issues resurface

MENIFEE -- An outcry from Quail Valley residents over impending
state regulations for septic tanks that the residents contend are
onerous and costly has caught the attention of Menifee city
leaders.

On Tuesday, the City Council is expected to approve sending
formal letters on behalf of Quail Valley residents to lawmakers and
government officials to ask that the residents' concerns be
respected and addressed as an ongoing debate over the regulations
unfolds.

The council's decision would come on the heels of a petition
circulating in the rural community that organizers say has been
signed by about 150 residents protesting the new rules, which are
scheduled to take effect next year.

The rules require businesses and homeowners with septic tanks to
have the units periodically inspected, a process expected to cost
about $700. Moreover, should the tanks need replacing, newer
systems for houses will cost as much as $30,000.

The requirements are part of legislation that passed in 2000
tightening standards on the sewage-collection tanks, the typical
way people in rural areas dispose of liquid and solid household
waste.

Quail Valley residents aren't the only ones concerned over the
regulations.

Residents living in rural areas across California have been up
in arms and contacting their legislators.

On Thursday, two state lawmakers introduced legislation to
repeal the septic tank rules, saying they push costly and
unnecessary regulations on families during very tough financial
times.

If the Menifee council approves sending the letters, one will be
delivered to Assemblyman Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley), asking him to
support the legislation to repeal the laws, city documents state.
The other letter would be sent to the State Water Resources Control
Board and outline concerns the council has with the regulations,
the documents state.

The water control board last week temporarily postponed
implementation of the regulations, but the board is still planning
to ultimately approve them at some point, according to Assemblyman
Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber), co-author of the bill seeking to repeal the
septic tank laws.

It's the uncertain future that concerns Quail Valley residents,
said Rita Peters, a 24-year resident of the community who led the
effort to circulate the petition.

"The state regulations for septic tanks stink," she said. "The
timing is so bad for this."

Peters, who is also a trustee on the Menifee Union School
District board, said most of the residents in Quail Valley are
working-class, and could not afford the costly inspections -- or a
new septic tank system.

What's more, she said, talk of connecting a sewer line to Quail
Valley has been ongoing since 2005.

That year, heavy rains battered the rural and hilly community of
Quail Valley, prompting more than 50 septic tanks to fail and raw
sewage to flow freely in its streets.

The sewage ended up in Canyon Lake and its namesake body of
water, closing it for months. The lake also is a source of drinking
water for customers of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water
District.

Because of Quail Valley's geology, the septic problems always
are close to the surface. The bedrock is much higher in that area
than it is in others, and as a result there is only a thin skin of
loose soil for septic waste water to percolate through.

Since the heavy rains of 2005, a moratorium has been placed on
installing septic tanks in Quail Valley by county and state
officials, and it has been designated a redevelopment area, making
it eligible for grants and other funding sources to connect sewer
lines to its residents.

But connecting sewer lines also will cost the residents money
and it remains unclear when those lines will be installed.

To build them, city officials and the Eastern Municipal Water
District are relying on federal and state grants, including some
that are predicated on septic-tank bans. Water district officials
have projected that the cost of the system, which would drain the
existing septic tanks, will be about $72 million.

Menifee Councilwoman Darcy Kuenzi said the council will have to
study the issue and consider short-term and long-term
solutions.

In the near future, she said, city leaders could push the state
to ease up on some of the costs for septic tank inspections or help
pay for the inspections and replacements instead of strapping
families with the cost.

In the long-term, grants, redevelopment funds, taxes, and other
sources of revenue need to be identified to build up enough money
to connect Quail Valley to sewer lines, she said.

Underscoring the issue are health and safety concerns, she said,
adding that "everyone is concerned about water quality and the
drinking supply of Canyon Lake and Lake Elsinore."

The Menifee city staff report seeking approval to send the two
letters states that "the city acknowledges that there are issues
regarding septic systems, and that water quality is and continues
to be a major concern."

"We are going to investigate it further and see what our options
are," City Manager George Wentz said. "We have homework to do."